A 2349 signature petition calling on zero fees to be retained was presented to Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds yesterday (21 Aug).

Petition organiser Bharat Guha, a former Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) chief financial officer, and current SIT student, said he was very happy with the response.

“In just three weeks to get 2349 signatures is excellent and reflects to me the level of concern there is around retaining the zero fees scheme.”

Despite a decision last week from Te Pukenga to continue the scheme for another 12 months, Guha said more certainty was needed.

“Students make a commitment to come and study here in Invercargill for up to 3 years, so a 12 month reprieve means very little.”

Simmonds agreed and said she was happy to receive the petition, which she would pass on to National’s education, spokesperson Erica Stanford.

“This community invested $7.5 million into zero fees. It’s an affront that we now have some bureaucrat in Auckland telling Southlanders they can continue the scheme for one more year, rather than allowing the local community the freedom to make its own decision."

“The zero fees scheme is critical to Southland and if lost could cost the province millions of dollars, while cutting off a valuable workforce pipeline."

“An independent report, published last year, showed that zero fees contributed about $157 million to the region’s economy annually, while 40 percent of graduates ended up working in Southland."

“In the current climate we cannot afford to lose this scheme - it really makes no economic sense to cut a it."

Simmonds said a National government would allow SIT to make its own decisions about keeping Zero Fees.